A 45-year-old man has been arrested after he threatened an 11-year-old boy with a gun. The child reportedly beat him during a Fortnite Battle Royale match.
According to NBC New York the man has been charged with second-degree aggravated harassment, as well as acting in a manner to injure a child, after he sent threatening messages to the boy via Xbox.
The report states that the threats related to both the boy and his school, with the implication being the man threatened to attack the boy there. With such threats, authorities had to intervene.
Unfortunately, trolling is inescapable when you’re playing online, but threatening gun violence is something entirely more serious – and potentially dangerous.
The inescapable Fortnite phenomenon is worrying a lot of parents of younger children, and incidents like this are fuelling concerns about video gaming in general.
Just this year Fortnite has been cited as the reason behind the UK’s first diagnosis of video game addiction (as recognised by the NHS), it’s caused violence within families, and recently was blamed for 5% of UK divorces since the beginning of the year.
The free-to-play battle royale game can be a lot of fun, but as with anything, too much of a good thing can be detrimental…
One of the main appeals of Fortnite – especially to a younger audience – is how accessible the game is.
Because it can be played on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android, it’s really inclusive in that you don’t need to have the latest consoles or gadgets to play with or against your friends, making it a massively accessible game for anyone of pretty much any age to pick up and jump into.
Such accessibility makes it a great universal game for fans, but it also looks like it has its pitfalls.
Stay safe online, folks!